Molten Chocolate Cakes

I first got these little ramekins months ago when I went on a shopping spree at Cost Plus World Market. I seriously can spend a good few hours in that place. I’ve been meaning to make some kind of pudding in these, but life got in the way.

But an opportunity arose, and I took it. I was having this big lunch at my home with my parents and my boyfriend, D. this past weekend to celebrate Chinese New Year, and it dawned on me that morning that I didn’t have any dessert planned for it. So I grabbed my trusty Everyday Food cookbook and found a wonderful recipe to use.

This wasn’t your typical Chinese New Year lunch. It was more of a “let’s celebrate the New Year with some of our favorite foods” lunch. And that is what we did. My dad made some tasty tri-tip, roasted. And I made some sweet dessert.

I chose to make Molten Chocolate Cakes because D. happens to love stuff inside of stuff. These little cakes had some gooey deliciousness baked (or should I say “unbaked”) right in the middle. All it is is just chocolate cake not baked all the way, but it is like a surprise when you get to the middle. The plus side to making this recipe is that it only makes enough for four people. No left-overs here!

When I baked the cakes, I wanted to use the ramekins so much, that I didn’t even realize that the inside won’t be able to drool out. But then again, I should have baked it much closer to lunch, or during lunch, because by the time we got to dessert, the middle was not so creamy anymore.

But… my oh my… was this cake good! The cake was not too dense and the middle was still creamy. It’s not crazy sweet, either. I think it just depends on the type of chocolate you use. I used the Nestle Dark Chocolate Chips and it is just the right amount of sweet. I have a high tolerance for sweet, but my mom, who does not enjoy very sweet things, liked this cake. No need for coffee here to balance out the sweet.
This cake is D. approved… gots to love stuff inside of stuff.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter the 4 ramekins. Dust with granulated sugar, and tap out excess. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined. Beat in chocolate until just combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared ramekins.

Place ramekins on a baking sheet; bake just until tops of the cakes no longer jiggle when the pan is lightly shaken, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.

Dust with confectioners’ sugar, and serve with whipped cream, if desired.